Principal's Report - 8th March

Dear Queenscliff Parents and Carers,

I cannot believe we are over halfway through Term 1 already! As they say, ‘time flies when you are having fun’. I would like to extend a special thank you to all of the parents, carers and community members who attended our very first assembly for the school year on Friday 23 February. It was an outstanding turnout! We were also extremely impressed by our School Leaders, Elli Smith and Ella Tamblyn, who did a tremendous job in hosting their first assembly. We enjoyed hearing about the learning successes and triumphs from Year 3/4TA, 5/6PH and Year 1 classes. Thank you for sharing your learning with us.

Congratulations Learmonth

A big congratulations to Learmonth who were our winning house for the first four weeks of school. All of the house points earnt by students from Prep to Year 6 were calculated and Learmonth came out on top. As a result, the Learmonth flag has been on display every day in the playground.

Huff and Puff

Huff n’ Puff commenced in Week 5 and has been an absolute success! We have enjoyed seeing our students getting to school before 8:30am to join in games and physical activity coordinated by Mr Thompson and our school staff. Being active is a brilliant way to start your day. Over the past few weeks, students have been participating in fun active games including poison ball, sack races, egg and spoon races and ‘capture the flag’. We encourage all of our students to come to school early Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings to get active.

Ride, Scoot or Walk to School Day

On Friday 8 March, we had our first Ride, Scoot or Walk to School Day for 2024. We had an impressive turnout with 75 students and 28 adults joining in the event. Riding, walking or scooting to school is a simple way we can promote active lifestyles with our students, encouraging their independence whilst reducing carbon emissions to look after our environment. I would like to express my gratitude to all of the parent volunteers who assisted throughout the morning to ensure our students were able to cross roads safely and ride to school.

Prep Enrolments 2025

Prep enrolments for the class of 2025 are now open. We are hosting two open mornings on Friday 22 March and Monday 29 April from 9:30-10:30am. Prospective parents will take a school tour and meet our Prep Teacher, Jackie Morris, to learn more about our learning programs and school. Families can register their attendance for the Open Mornings by visiting https://www.trybooking.com/CPQPS . We encourage families to register their enrolment as soon as possible due to the limited number of places available.

Click here to register

Kinder and Lonsdale House Excursion

Last week, I visited the Kinder and Lonsdale House with our tremendous student ambassadors Elli Smith, Ella Tamblyn, Sol Elderidge, Charlie High, Beau Mieszkowski, Suhani Kheni, Willow Krivan and Ravi Patel. Our students read picture books, engaged in creative play and took time to get to know the three- and four-year old kindergarten children. They were outstanding role models for the younger children and enjoyed their visit. We look forward to children from Lonsdale House and the Kinder joining us at school in Week 8 and 9 for an Easter Scavenger Hunt.

Bravehearts - Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Show

On Tuesday 5 March, students in Prep to Year 2 participated in the Bravehearts, ‘Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Show’ aimed at enhancing students’ understanding of personal safety and wellbeing. It was a highly engaging show with plenty of dancing and singing, with a visit from Ditto himself. Our students learnt about differentiating safe and unsafe feelings, how to recognise the body’s warning signs, body ownership and that it is okay to say ‘no, naming public and private parts using anatomically correct names and useful strategies to maintain personal safety.

Cross Country

The QPS Cross Country carnival has been postponed to Thursday 14 March 2024. Students from Year 3 to 6 will compete in a cross country course along the rail trail finishing in the school grounds. Students in Prep to Year 2 will have an opportunity to compete in a modified cross country course within the school grounds. We hope parents and carers are able to join us for the morning and there will be a coffee van on school grounds in the morning for parents.

NAPLAN - Year 3 and Year 5

In Week 7 and Week 8, students in Year 3 and Year 5 will undertake the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). Over the past few weeks, students have had opportunities to participate in practice NAPLAN assessments to support their preparation. We have reiterated to our students that NAPLAN is a normal, routine process for all students in Year 3 and Year 5 across the country, and that we expect them to simply try their best. NAPLAN is a snapshot assessment of how students are achieving on one particular day and we must remember that NAPLAN does not assess all students' knowledge, skills and understandings. We want to reduce the stress, anxiety and worry students may be feeling as they lead into NAPLAN by encouraging them to do their best and ‘have a go’. Students who are unable to complete the NAPLAN assessments on the scheduled day will have an opportunity to complete their assessments on another day. Please see below for the NAPLAN schedule:

Wednesday 13 March - Writing

Monday 18 March - Reading

Tuesday 19 March - Conventions of Language

Thursday 21 March - Numeracy

Song Room

Our Year 3/4 students have thoroughly enjoyed participating in Song Room workshops weekly with our teaching artist, Tess Duddy. Students have been sharing their interests and workshopping ideas for a musical performance held in Term 3. The performance will be based on the theme ‘identity’ linked with their Integrated Studies unit of work and tie in with the Winter Solstice. We look forward to seeing the magic they create together.

The Great Book Swap

Indigenous Literacy Foundation Fundraiser

The SRC are organising ‘The Great Book Swap’. The Great Book Swap is a fundraising activity that supports the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and their works with remote Communities across Australia. The Indigenous Literacy Foundation is a charity that works with 424 remote Communities to supply books and literacy resources, and publish books in First Languages by and for First Nations Peoples.

We are asking families to donate good quality, second-hand books. These books may include: fiction, non-fiction, subject specific, and picture books. Please place the donated books in the tubs located in the School office. On Monday 25 March 2024, we will be hosting our Great Book Swap! Each class will have a scheduled time to attend the Book Swap to purchase a book. We are asking that students bring a gold coin or $5 note to school as a donation. Our Student Representative Council will be leading and coordinating the QPS Book Swap.

Our fundraising site also allows you to make an online donation to our school’s Great Book Swap in the lead up to the event.

Fundraising Site

Assembly - Save the Date

Our next assembly will be on Friday 15 March 2024 and we look forward to Year 2, 3/4TH and 5/6C sharing their learning. We hope to see plenty of parents, carers and community members joining us for the special occasion.

Mobile Phone and Smartwatch Policy

Our School and the Department of Education’s policy does not permit students to bring mobile phones to school. Research indicates mobile phones and smartwatches can cause significant disruption to students and their learning in the classroom and foster social isolation when used at school. School is a place for learning and we want our classrooms to be focused on learning and break times for fun and building positive relationships with peers. We had had challenges of students bringing mobile phones to school playing online games on the bus before school and during break times. Students who wear smartwatches to school must have the watches switched to ‘school mode’ for the duration of school hours. We would appreciate the support of parents and carers in ensuring your child does not bring a mobile phone to school or have a smartwatch on without ‘school mode’.

School Council

I would like to congratulate Hazel Brown, a new member, and Heidi Boyd, a continuing member, to our School Council for the coming two years. Hazel and Heidi were our only nominees, and as a result we did not have a ballot. Richard Fewster, Lisa Golightly, Sharna Thomason, Naomi Stacey, Melissa Fitzgerald, Ebony Tannouri, Heidi Boyd and Hazel Brown will make up our School Council for 2024 and I look forward to working with them closely throughout the year.

Business Manager

Our recently appointed Business Manager, Dune Richards, has resigned from her position. We are currently in the process of recruiting a new Business Manager. In the interim, we welcome back Sylvia Tomkin. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dune for optimism and positive contributions to our school in the short time she was with us. I wish Dune and her family all the best for the future.

Parent Class Representatives

We are seeking 2 parents to be Class Representatives for each class in 2024. Parent Representatives aim to increase the communication between the school and parent community. Class Representatives will meet with the School Leadership Team termly and may facilitate communication in organising class/grade level events outside of school hours. Class Representatives will also assist in organising parent volunteers for school events, functions and fundraisers. Parents and carers who are interested in being a Class Representative for their child’s class are to email me directly at mathew.mcrae@education.vic.gov.au. Thank you to the parents and carers who have already registered their interest. We will finalise the Class Parent Representatives in the coming week and send out a notification via Compass. Registrations for Class Representatives will close on Friday 8 March 2024.

School Photos

On Tuesday 27 February, school photos were taken of our students and staff by Arthur Reed Photos. To view the images of your child and order photos, you will need to first register online.

1. Go to https://order.arphotos.com.au and enter the 2024 image code for your child (from their personalised flyer)

2. Tap on ‘Add another child’ to enter the image codes of any siblings

3. Fill in your email and mobile details and then review all details before confirming your registration.

When 2024 photos are ready, parents will be notified by email and SMS.

Even if parents registered in previous years, it’s important that you do it again each year using your child’s new image code to link their photos for the current year with your contact details. To ensure you are ordering school photos for the current year, please wait for notifications that 2024 images are online before placing orders. In the webshop, parents can view photos and customise your photo package including images and layouts. All photo orders will be sent directly to the address parents provide when ordering.

Prep and Year 1 Parent Volunteer Induction

On Thursday 7 March, Melissa Fitzgerald and I hosted a Prep and Year 1 Parent Volunteer Induction Session to a large group of eager parents, grandparents and community members. We were delighted with the interest and enthusiasm from our parent community and we are excited to have their support and contributions in the classroom to assist our students’ learning. The volunteer program will officially commence in Term 2 with volunteers assisting in the classroom. All volunteers working within the classroom must complete the Induction training, have a Working with Children Check submitted to the school and sign the Volunteers Code of Conduct and Responsibilities document before commencement.

Prep to Year 2 Literacy Workshop

On Monday 26 February, we hosted a Prep to Year 2 Literacy Workshop. I would like to extend my gratitude to the families and parents who were able to attend the session, both in person and online. We hope the workshop provided you with valuable information and practical strategies you can use at home to support your child with their literacy skills and development. I would also like to congratulate our Literacy Leader, Jackie Morris, along with our Year 2 Teacher, Laura Atkins, and, Year 1 Teacher, Teyha Robertson for delivering such a comprehensive workshop for our parent community.

Gardens and Grounds Committee

Last Thursday 19 February, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with our enthusiastic Gardens and Grounds Committee on developing a vision for our school grounds with specific goals. The committee agreed on 4 guiding principles for our vision for the QPS grounds. All future projects and works on the grounds will aim to achieve one or more of the following guiding principles:

  • Wellbeing and Inclusivity

  • Sustainability

  • Connection with Country and Community

  • Creativity and Imagination

The next steps for the committee will be to work towards developing a Master Plan for the school grounds and plan projects for 2024 that align with the principles. A key focus for the committee is on creating an imaginative, nature-play space for our students, bike storage area and sensory garden. We intend on applying for several community grants to support our vision.

We are seeking support from any parents or community members who can assist us in developing a Master Plan for the school grounds. If you have experience or qualifications as a landscape architect, draughtsman or design background, and are interested in helping the committee, we would love to hear from you. Please email me directly at mathew.mcrae@education.vic.gov.au .

I would like to thank Nathan Ulph, Ebony Tannouri, Jackie Morris, Melissa Fitzgerald, Hazel Brown, Stuart Kent, Richard Fewster, Chris Wilmot, Brooke Burgess and Yolanda Wosny for volunteering their time and enthusiasm as part of the Gardens and Grounds committee.

Monday 11 March is the Labour Day Public Holiday. Students will commence their first day of Week 7 on Tuesday 12 March. I wish all of our families an enjoyable and relaxing long weekend.

Nyatne baa Gobata
(Thank you and take care)

Mat McRae
Principal


Community News

Point Lonsdale Basketball - Recruiting Players now!

Basketball

Kids of the Borough Disco

Hi Community,
It’s on again! The Kids of the Borough Disco #2. As promised Friday the 15th March for Primary Aged Borough Kids in the Point Lonsdale Primary School Common Area. Kids from all schools welcome! Here’s the Try booking link. Tickets must be purchased prior to the night and adults must stay and be responsible for their own kids. Kids encouraged to dress up in their favourite disco outfit. Let’s let the kids get their boogey on!

Disco

Easter Egg Hunt

As Easter approaches, we are thrilled to invite all your students and families to participate in an Egg-Citing Easter Egg Hunt for a fantastic cause – raising funds for our local community Radio Station 96three.

Date: Saturday March 30
Time: 11-2pm
Location: Bellarine Estate Winery, 2270 Portarlington Road Bellarine

This event promises to be a joyous occasion for all the whole family, filled with fun activities, delicious food vans, jumping castles, face painting and of course an egg hunt that will have everyone hopping with excitement. By participating in this event, your student and their families will not only have a memorable easter celebration but also contribute to the continues success of our community radio station. Every ticket purchased will make a significant difference in supporting local radio.

We encourage you to spread the word among your students and their families. Inviting them to join us for a day of laughter, memories and giving back to our community. If you have and questions or would like to purchase tickets or to know more about this event please go to: www.96three.com.au

Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you all at the Egg-Citing Easter Egg Hunt.

Leroy Brown
Content Director/ Breakfast Announcer


The Great Book Swap

Queenscliff Primary School is participating in the 2024 Great Book Swap, a fundraising activity that supports the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and their works with remote Communities across Australia.

As a host of the event, our school has been assigned to a language house and we have been provided access to items such as language fact sheets, videos and maps for cultural learning. Our language house is ‘Yari’, in Yawuru language, “Yari” translates to “whale”!

We are asking families to donate good quality, second-hand books. These books may include: fiction, non-fiction, subject specific, and picture books. Please place the donated books in the tubs located in the School office.

On Monday 25 March 2024, we will be hosting our Great Book Swap! Each class will have a scheduled time to attend the Book Swap to purchase a book. We are asking that students bring a gold coin or $5 note to school as a donation. Our Student Representative Council will be leading and coordinating the QPS Book Swap.

Further Information:
Yari Fact File

ILF Fact Sheet

Fundraising Page

Our fundraising site also allows you to make an online donation to our school’s Great Book Swap in the lead up to the event.

QPS Fundraising Page

Class News

Grade 3/4F News

During Integrated Studies, Grade 3/4 students have been learning about Identity. Dr Talia kindly visited us to present an informative session discussing neurodiversity, the nervous system, feelings and how wonderfully unique and diverse we all are. We shared the story, The Brain Forest by Sandhya Menon. Students have constructed ‘Brain Caps’ to explore different parts of the brain which can contribute to our identities.

PE News - QPS Cross Country

Our next QPS sporting event is the QPS Cross Country. This will be held next week on Thursday the 14th of March commencing at 9.30am. We welcome families to join us in supporting and cheering for our students as they show their best efforts in running a variety of distances around our magnificent school grounds and along the rail trail with the backdrop of Swan Bay.

Prep to grade 2 will start and finish on the oval. Grade 3 – 6 will start on the rail trail outside the tennis court, run along the rail trail and finish on the school oval.

Cross Country Timetable:

Grade 5 and 6 Girls

9.30am

Grade 2

9.35am

Grade 1

9.45am

Grade 5 and 6 Boys

10.00am

Prep

10.05am

Grade 3 and 4 Girls

10.25am

Grade 3 and 4 Boys

10.45am

We would welcome any parent volunteers on the day to provide support as course marshals to supervise and guide students along the path, or as recording judges. Please email the school to express your availability to assist on the day. We look forward to another fun event at QPS…… of and this one has a coffee van for your enjoyment!!!!

PE News

Cricket Lightning Premiership

On Friday the 23rd of February, Our School cricket teams travelled to Portarlington to play in the District Cricket Lighting Premiership Tournament. Four weeks before the tournament we had Coach Ken come to our school to help us learn more skills before the Lighting Prem. He taught us drills to improve our batting , bowling and fielding. We had so much fun and we learned a lot. We hope that Ken can come back next year and teach us more.

The Boys team's first game was at 10:00am. We got ready for our first game. We lost the first two games,but the third game is when it started to get better we won by around 50 runs, the last game was everyone's favourite, there were sixes and fours everywhere! We won the game by more than 120 runs. At the end of the tournament Portarlington won. The day ended on a high, we packed up our bags and hopped on the bus and went back to school.

The girls team's first game was at 10:00am. Beforehand we warmed up and started to get ready. We ended up losing our first game by 40 runs but we didn't let that stop us! After our break, we ended up winning our second game by 50 runs which we were very happy about. Our last game was at 1:30pm and we were going against St Aloysius. We ended up winning again by 1 run and it was a super fun way to end the day! Portarlington ended up winning the tournament on the girls' side.

By Beau M and Elli S

Grade 5/6 PH News

We are excited to share with you the latest update on our Grade 5/6 students' learning journey in the narrative writing unit. Over the past few weeks, students have been focusing on creating engaging introductions for their narratives, using action and descriptive language to hook the reader from the start.

Students have been exploring various techniques to make their introductions captivating. They have learned to start with a strong action or event that immediately draws the reader into the story. By using descriptive language, students are able to paint a vivid picture in the reader's mind, setting the scene for the rest of the narrative.

Students have also been working on using commas to make our sentences more complex.

Here are some introductions from a few of our Grade 5/6 students. We hope you enjoy them!

Narrative Introductions - 5/6PH

Thud! “Be careful, you nearly hit me!’’ Will called out to Jack. “Sorry,” Jack shouted with a deep voice. Jack’s blonde hair nearly flew off his head, while he was climbing up the mountain. His hazel eyes shone brightly in the sun, while Will clung onto the rope for dear life. They were on a hiking trip with their pet hamster Smokey who was hiding in the shadows of Will’s backpack with his black fur. They were going to the Haunted City.

SPLASH! Maggie was pulled under the icy water. She was pulled several metres deep, her blue eyes stinging like crazy and her blonde hair refusing to go deeper. But the thing pulling her was too strong. She was screaming, but bubbles were forming. The deeper she went the harder it was to breathe. Maggie was nearly out of air but then the thing tapped her on the nose and suddenly, she was breathing.

Trees towered over the Girl Scouts’ bus. The forest smell of fresh creek water washed over them, and they could hear the birds squawking from the trees.
“I hope we're in the same cabin,” commented Maisie.
“Me too.” Responded Lulu. They walked towards the scout group looking at a piece of paper.

Y’know there’s this one crazy thing that changed society forever, in the blink of an eye. It was related to something that almost everybody uses, well used to use.. Electricity..
“Hey Tom, turn on the tv would ya?” Asked Dad.
“Sure, Dad,” replied Tom.
News:
“Breaking News. Man saves a cat from burni-” The TV turns off. Everyone goes silent.
“I think it was just a power outage. I’ll go check the power supply” says Tom. Tom goes outside to the back of the house to check the status. He tries to apply the backup power but nothing happens. He tries a few more times, but still the same result.

Science News

Science has been packed with fun, hands-on learning for the Foundation to grade six classes so far this term. Foundation, Grade 1 and 2 students have been learning about the forces of push and pull by rolling cars and balls down ramps and flying kites and this week watching how the density of different objects causes them to either float or sink. The 3/ 4 students have been observing the properties of living and non-living things and recently started their STEM Enrichment Design projects where they will design enrichment for one of four animals from Zoos Victoria. The 5/6 classes have been discovering how electric circuits work and creating their own circuits using fans, solar power and hand cranks.